Reliance Lyf may launch wearable devices

Experts said Reliance LYF would want to tap the wearable devices market--which is expected to be between $14 billion and $40 billion by 2020--to complement its mobile devicesDeepali Gupta | ET Bureau | April 01, 2016, 15:15 IST

Picture source: ThinkStockMukesh Ambani-promoted smartphone maker Reliance Lyf is considering a foray into the country's wearable devices segment. The company, which is creating a portfolio of smartphones that range from entry-level 4G to premium devices, wants to project itself as a lifestyle brand.

Experts said Reliance Lyf would want to tap the wearable devices market--which is expected to be between $14 billion and $40 billion by 2020--to complement its mobile devices.

Sunil Dutt, president for the devices section at Reliance Digital, told ET in a recent interview that the company is “evaluating the possibility of wearables, (but we) still need to see how big the market is, how easy it is for users to adapt and what functions we can provide on it."

The brand is also planning to soon launch accessories as it builds availability of suitable devices in the market ahead of the 4G service launch by Reliance Jio, plans for which were announced six years ago.

Lyf, which Dutt said was an acronym for Lighter Younger Faster; Live Your Freedom; Love your Family, would enable consumers to experience the power of data irrespective of the network.

“Two businesses (service and mobile handsets) are separate; devices and network have no correlation. We built our devices to experience true 4G," he said.

But the company will release its MiFi devices, which emit a WiFi signal and connect up to 10 devices to the Internet using a SIM card, only closer to when its network is set to launch. MiFi is network-dependent, so when we are ready to launch the network it will come."

Dutt said Reliance Retail will run a 360 degree campaign revolving around Bollywood and cricket, which are the two big advertising avenues in India. The social media build up will play a large role in the branding of Lyf phones, he said.